


Water Rescue

by RayneSummer



Category: Uncharted (Video Games)
Genre: Gen, a shitload of nate n sul sort of angsty shit, but it took me all day to write this, idek what this rlly is
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-29
Updated: 2016-07-29
Packaged: 2018-07-27 14:05:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,116
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7621303
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RayneSummer/pseuds/RayneSummer
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>If there was anything to be learnt in the Navy, it was that drowning was not something to be treated imprudently.<br/>-<br/>Or, Nate nearly drowns, Sully saves him, and they briefly wonder on their life before promptly leaving town like usual.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Water Rescue

Of all the places to have a fight, underwater was not a good one.

But that hadn’t stopped the guy tackling Nate off the docks and into the water, barely giving him time to take a proper breath before they were both sinking.

And while Nate was of the opinion that the client was at fault for running away when confronted, apparently the man didn’t agree.

Although he was the one that sent his burly friend to follow them in the first place.

Which left Nate to run after the guy as he bolted, and Sully to deal with the ‘friend’ who tried to lumber after the other two.

Their chase had promptly ended when Nate cornered the man at the end of the docks, only to be tackled off the wooden walkway and plunged into the water.

So that was why he was currently trying to break out of the guy’s grip as they both sunk down towards the surprisingly deep sandy bottom.

Nate struggled to pry the guy’s fingers clenched around his upper arm off while kicking out with as much force as possible, hoping to land a blow at the man’s stomach or groin, making him let go.

He only tightened his grip until Nate was sure there would be a ring of bruises around his bicep for days, that is if he survived this.

The man’s face was screwed up in anger and turning red from both that as well as the pressure of water. He threw a sluggish punch in Nate’s direction heading for his face, but it was slow enough to dodge.

On land, that would have thrown the man off-balance, but since they were submerged it did nothing in Nate’s favour apart from make the guy angrier.

Fortunately, it seemed he was running out of breath quicker as his movements became frantic and his face somehow got more screwed up in desperation and anger.

Nate kicked out again, this time connecting with the guy’s stomach with enough force to loosen his weakening grip for a second, allowing Nate to shove the hand off his arm and follow up with another kick to the face.

Okay, well _that_ he generally wouldn’t be able to accomplish out of water.

Still, though he seemed the better off in terms of holding his breath, Nate was also feeling the pressure build as they almost touched the bottom and his chest ached as he grit his teeth against the pain of holding his breath for this long.

The man was doing worse though, so Nate used that to his advantage – movements becoming similarly desperate, he kicked out again, catching the guy underneath the chin.

He was still stunned with a hand at his bleeding nose, so the attack came as an even bigger surprise.

It clocked his head up making him cry out, bubbles of the little air he had left silently leaving his mouth and drifting lazily up. Nate barely spared a glance at the dying man as he made to follow them.

But the guy grabbed one of his legs and pulled, dragging him back down in the water. Nate kicked out again to loosen the grip but the man was on the edge of dying and had nothing left to waste – he pulled a small army knife out of his pocket and brandished it.

He let out a silent scream of the air he had left, making his face look even worse; mouth gaped in a crazed yell, eyes furious but dimming, and water making his skin gaunt against his skull.

With that, the man put everything he had left in thrusting the knife at Nate, who couldn’t quite make himself move in time through a mind addled by lack of oxygen, weakening his movements.

The knife pierced Nate’s side, scraping the skin of his side as the man let go of it. Chest bursting, lungs aching, Nate angrily twisted to grab the knife and shoved it back at its owner without thinking, point-first.

It took the man in the throat and blood immediately swirled around them, leaking quickly into the water from the cut artery.

The guy’s hands twitched towards the wound and then went still. His body floated eerily just above the sandy bottom, face-down. Blood naturally seeped from his throat but his heart had stopped, no longer pumping it out.

Nate’s own heartbeat was thundering in his ears and his head throbbed along with the frantic rhythm, screaming at him to get out _now_.

Weakly, he pushed at the water, attempting to move upwards, and looked towards the surface – it was too far, too light from the sun outside.

His chest ached beyond recognition, empty lungs hurting like nothing else, and he realised he was going to die here.

The salt water stung his side where the knife had slashed, but that was the least of his worries.

He shoved at the water weakly, desperate to get out. Blood swirled around him, clouding his vision, and everything hurt. Ah, _shit,_ this really was it.

Nate closed his eyes tightly, movements stilling, heart still thudding in his head but slowing. Drowning was one of the worse ways to go. He knew it was only a handful of seconds before he could keep himself from breathing in, and from there he was done for.

Darkness shrouded him as something or someone suddenly grabbed him from behind, an arm wrapped firmly around his chest.

He could feel they were ascending, but Nate had run out of time.

Even as the water turned lighter around him, everything faded into darkness and he couldn’t help feeling regretful.

* * *

 

Sully had not been having the greatest day; after being screwed over by the client, confronting him had only led to being left in the room with the bigger guy as Nate ran after the other one.

Luckily the guy was big and strong but definitely not smart.

So it didn’t take too long to side-step him and shove the goon into the desk, trapping him with it against the wall and leaving him dazed.

After that it was just a simple matter of getting the hell out of there, slamming the door jamming a handy chair up against the handle as a lock.

That quickly settled, Sully had immediately gone after the other two, following Nate’s path out of the dingy house and hurrying down the hill, scanning the horizon for them.

He’d managed to spot Nate sprinting towards the docks past the harbour – there was no mistaking that kid (nearly twenty years does that to you).

Sully had continued running in pursuit, trying to squint at the docks as he sprinted carefully down the hill and cutting across a few grassy areas, ignoring the long winding road that led cars up.

Reaching the harbour, he had a clear view of the stand-off at the very edge of one of the walkways at the docks, and saw the guy run at Nate and tackle them both into falling in the water with a splash.

He swore and doubled his pace along the street to the docks.

Panting, Sully slowed to turn and run down the same walkway the others had fallen from. He came to a halt at the end, scanning the water with growing fear. There was no sign of anything.

The water was smooth and calm as the sunny day, but still not transparent; it showed only where the sun pierced the surface, which had already stilled after the disruption.

Sully swore again and glanced at his water. It wasn’t exact, but he counted it had been almost a whole minute since they fell, and that was more than long enough for a normal person to need to surface.

Nate was rather good at holding his breath, since he enjoyed activities like diving and swimming silently underwater, often jumping in the sea for a while when they were out on the boat in a rare moment of calm.

But he could generally only hold his breath for about 40 seconds, almost never deliberately staying under longer than comfortable.

Sully always kept an eye on him, since the kid could get into trouble so easily.

This was getting way too long for anyone’s comfort. And with the guy apparently intent on taking Nate down with him, it could be assumed he was going to continue fighting and prevent Nate from getting to the surface.

It wasn’t looking good. But anything else be damned, that kid was Sully’s charge and to hell with anyone who threatened him – often literally.

Sully glanced at his watch as he pulled it off to leave it on the wood. It was the only valuable item on him right now (..Nate had given it to him).

Over a minute. Alright, that was it.

As an afterthought, he hastily pulled his phone out of his pocket and put it beside the watch, then dived into the water without question.

It stung his eyes to keep them open underwater but he ignored that, determinedly focusing on swimming downwards, towards the bottom.

Thankfully, a sight came into view just above the sand; Nate and the guy engaged in some kind of combat. Sully swam a little to the side to stay out of view if they looked up as he continued pushing down.

Nate tried to simply swim up after kicking the other guy in the face, but he grabbed Nate’s leg in anger and pulled the kid back down to face him, holding something in his hand.

Sully quickened his stroke in fear, drawing closer.

As he watched, the water around them suddenly began swirling red with blood and both men stilled for a moment.

Then the guy went slack and floated to a face-down position at the bottom. Well, he was obviously done for, either as a result of the blood thickening the water or the water itself.

Most probably a mixture of both. An underwater fight was never exactly desirable.

But Nate seemed about to join the man; he moved weakly against the water with a despairing upwards look, not seeing Sully.

 _Hold on, kid,_ Sully thought, pushing the last few metres through the water towards him. _Nearly there._

He reached the bottom and swam to Nate, quickly putting a strong arm under his arms, around his chest, and immediately pushing off upwards for the surface.

Nate didn’t react to being grabbed or move against Sully as they headed for the light, and he felt the constant fear swell in him.

They broke the surface with a gasp, and Sully made sure the kid’s face was clear of the water before striking out for the nearest walkway, holding him tightly against himself.

Nate’s head was slumped heavily on his shoulder as Sully swam them towards land, still unresponsive.

He was frankly terrified he had taken too long and Nate wasn’t going to make it.

That fear and guilt carried him to the walkway as quick as possible so he could check Nate; Sully grabbed the wooden edge and hastily scrambled up onto it, still grimly holding onto Nate.

Leaning over the side, which was thankfully only inches from the water’s surface, he dragged Nate out of the water and pulled him onto the decking, feeling like deadweight.

Sully quickly gave him a once-over and noted blood on the kid’s shirt, but the most important issue was seeing if he was even still alive.

Drowning was not something to be treated imprudently. (If there was anything to be learnt in the Navy…)

“Nate? Hey, kid?”

He put a hand at the side of the kid’s face, gently tapping his cheek. His eyes were closed, face pale, lips tinged blue, and the hand was almost warm against his skin.

“Shit,” Sully muttered as Nate remained unresponsive. He couldn’t tell if he was breathing and Sully swiftly moved his hand down to press two fingers at the kid’s throat.

“C’mon, Nate. Come on.” He heard his voice shake just a little as he desperately searched for a pulse, fear threatening to take over.

After a terrifying moment, a weak pulse unsteadily presented itself and Sully hung his head for a second in sheer relief.

“Thank god…” His relief didn’t last long though; Nate wasn’t breathing yet and assumingly needed to be snapped out of unconsciousness which would hopefully prompt his body to realise it could now breathe.

But it had to be _now._

Sully moved his hand back to the kid’s face and patting his cheek more forcefully; that quickly proved itself useless in waking him up, so with a murmured apology, Sully full-on smacked Nate across the face.

Well, desperate times call for… slapping like a bitch.

Nevertheless, it did the trick.

First the kid’s arms shot out, pushing Sully away and catching him by surprise, as Nate opened his eyes and inhaled sharply, wheezing to enliven his oxygen-starved body.

He was coughing inbetween gasps, momentarily confused and panicked as Sully tried to take his shoulder. Nate scrambled to sit up with effort, still struggling to catch his breath, and looked around for who was there.

“Sully,” Nate broke off, coughing, and Sully thumped him on the back a couple of times to help as he coughed up the water in his lungs.

“I’m here, kid,” Sully assured him, rubbing circles on his back. He was almost exhausted with relief and the adrenalin drop of knowing Nate was okay. “Just breathe. You’re alright.”

They sat there like that for a moment, both dripping wet, while Nate’s panting slowed as he calmed down and caught his breath.

Meanwhile, Sully noticed a glint of silver only a few metres away from where they were – his watch and phone. Nate was just sitting, staring morosely at the water, possibly thinking about the other guy, so Sully patted his shoulder and silently got up.

He crouched to pick up the items and put the watch back on, shoving his phone carelessly into a wet pocket before noting the time; the whole fiasco that started with the confrontation had taken barely ten minutes.

Well, sometimes jobs were just like that. And always, the only thing that really matter was that they were alive and alright.

Sully straightened up with a sigh and turned around to see Nate watching him absently, sitting with his arms resting on drawn-up knees.

“Ready to get up, kid?” He offered a hand out and Nate looked at it for a moment as if not really wanting to stand, but then gratefully took the help, getting slowly to his feet with a quiet pained hiss.

Wincing, he put a hand to where the knife had slashed at his side, Sully watching with concern.

But out of the blood-tainted water, the wound wasn’t nearly as bad as it had stung in salt; the sluggish blow had only scraped the knife against his skin, leaving a thin cut.

It wasn’t really anything more than a graze. Nate looked back up at Sully and gave him a reassuring smile.

“It’s fine,” he said confidently, hoping to ease his mentor’s worried expression, “barely anything there.”

“Mm.” Sully didn’t quite agree with Nate’s diagnosis but decided he could check later at the hotel or something, just to double-check it was nothing to cause complications.

He nodded down the walkway back towards the docks, where actually a small crowd of people had gathered, drawn by the happenings in their town.

“What d’you say we head back, get outta here and take a break?”

Nate’s eyes got that far-off look as he nodded and blinked to focus back on Sully before gesturing towards solid ground.

“Lead the way.”

Sully huffed a smile and began heading towards the small crowd, which hastily dispersed as they walked back down the wood. This was more of a keep-yourself-to-yourself kind of place.

They stepped off the walkway onto the dock’s concrete, the sun bright in the sky already working on drying their sopping clothes.

Nate sighed and stopped there, turning a little to gaze out at the sea.

After a brief moment of hesitation, Sully moved to stand beside him, glancing at the kid’s face before following his stare towards the horizon.

“Do you ever wonder…” Nate trailed off, seemingly at a loss for words.

Maybe the kid wasn’t even sure himself what exactly he meant, how to explain exactly the myriad of feelings he had.

Either way, Sully wanted to prove he was still here for him, always.

He sighed quietly and put a hand on Nate’s shoulder. “Kid, unless you pull a trigger in pure cold blood, it ain’t never really your fault.”

Nate huffed a laugh. “Sure. I mean, know it’s just the life, but sometimes it’s, well, it’s hard not to think too much about it.”

“Trust me, I know. Sometimes you can’t help getting involved. But sometimes you can’t help how it turns out.”

“I guess. Not like I can control anything. Just gotta look after your own.” He glanced sideways at Sully and caught the nod of approval for the quoting.

“Yeah. That’s what I always say, huh.” Sully caught Nate’s eye and continued in all seriousness, “you’re part of ‘my own’, okay. I will always come for you.”

They looked at each other for a second, really listening.

Then Sully blinked and glanced away slightly awkwardly, and Nate cleared his throat, reaching up to rub the back of his neck.

“Uh, yeah. Thanks.” He gave his mentor a quick smile before turning to go back into the town, Sully following him with a chuckle.

They weren’t used to being this open, even after so many years together.

It usually only happened in serious situations, or when defences were lowered, like the way injuries and illnesses make one vulnerable.

Though, Nate mused as they walked, he remembered how scared he was in the water – and how scared Sully had looked when that was the first thing he saw when he opened his eyes.

So he tried to think of something else to say, as a start of putting this job behind them.

Something like…

“Hey, did you slap me?”

Sully raised an eyebrow at him. “What?”

“Really, all the Navy training, all the stories, and you just go for a slap?”

“Well it worked, didn’t it!”

Nate rolled his eyes and smirked good-naturedly. “You hit like a girl.”

Sully nudged his shoulder. “You whine like a baby.”

The bickering went on as they trudged back to their rented car together in order to head home – or somewhere else, at least – and find another job.

That was their life. And sometimes, they had each other, and that was enough.

**Author's Note:**

> We will NEVER know what an Ending is!  
> So it took me all day to write this and it's an idea I've had for a while, because I love water rescuing so much and I actually looked up and found a couple of Navy Seal water rescue videos on youtube, but even though I feel it is really not up to my usual passable level of writing, I have wrote it and it's a fair length and it's not complete crap, so.  
> uh, and please review if you have a moment! Thanks


End file.
